cars

Barcelona´s bicycle sharing service, Bicing, has announced plans to launch an electrical bike service designed to aid longer journeys around the city. This service aims to improve the effectiveness of the current Bicing service by promoting the use of electrical bicycles, which will further enhance the image of Barcelona as a ´Smart City´. An initial trial of the new service will begin this December when 300 electronic bikes will be spread over 45 Bicingstations across the city. As with the original Bicing service, this new scheme will be directed towards regular residents of Barcelona and will be unavailable to short-stay tourists.

At a conference in Brussels on Wednesday, Barcelona presented itself as a “pioneering” city to accommodate electric vehicles. Coinciding with the European Energy Week, the Catalan delegation to the European Union in collaboration with Renault-Nissan organized a conference on the promotion of electric mobility and smart cities, entitled 'The Liveable City’. "Everything is ready, what is missing is that people just have to make the step to use electric vehicles”, the Manager of Infrastructure and Electric Mobility of the City of Barcelona, Manuel Valdés, told CNA. According to the Communications Director of Nissan Iberia, Francesc Corberó, the city "is not only ready, but its whole mindset is totally focused on this challenge".

The new SUV model of SEAT, which is part of the Volkwagen Group, will be produced in the Czech Republic rather than in the Martorell plant despite being entirely designed in the SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell (Greater Barcelona), according to sources from the German car manufacturer. The company justified the decision because of "lower production costs" at the Czech Skoda plant. The news that the manufacturing of the model will be moved away from Barcelona has come as a blow to the CCOO trade union, which has expressed its regret that the Catalan factory has lost the opportunity to have a secure workload for the coming years. CCOO has suggested that the Martorell plant requires a business plan to ensure the allocation of new models.

This weekend Lewis Hamilton won the F1 race in Barcelona followed by Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg. The two drivers fought hard for the victory and Hamilton finished only 0.6 seconds ahead of Rosberg. Daniel Ricciardo, from Red Bull, completed the podium. Sebastian Vettel ended in fourth position, after starting the race 15^th. Hamilton is now leader of the championship. More than 200,000 people went to the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit to watch the F1 Grand Prix over the three days, 60% of which came from abroad.  

This weekend the Formula 1 World Championship comes to Catalonia once again thanks to a long tradition which blends the motor industry and competition. Catalonia has several industries related to cars and motorbikes. Aside from SEAT, Nissan, Honda and Rieju are important factories that supply components worldwide. Catalonia plays host to a packed motor sports calendar. The Formula 1 Grand Prix, the GP Motorbike Grand Prix, the World Rally Championship all take place in Catalonia among other endurance series, classic races and indoor or outdoor motorbikes championships. Moreover, Catalan drivers are competing in a lot of international categories. For instance, last year the three Motorcycle World Champions – Marc Márquez, Pol Espargaró and Maverick Viñales - were all Catalans.

The Japanese car manufacturer started production of its new e-NV200 van, the electric version of the existing NV200, on Monday. The new model will be Nissan’s first van to be 100% electric. The vehicle will be exclusively built in the company’s plant located in Barcelona’s Zona Franca industrial district, which is very close to the city’s sea port, one of Europe’s main gateways for imports and exports. The production of the new e-NV200 has meant the creation of 700 new jobs, according to Nissan’s CEO and Vice President for Industrial Operations in Spain, Frank Torres. Barcelona’s City Council has reached an agreement with the car manufacturer to promote the use of this van among the Catalan capital’s taxi fleet and distributors operating in Mercabarna, the city’s wholesale market.

During the 2014 Innovation Convention, organised by the European Commission on Tuesday, Barcelona was named the first European Capital of Innovation. The Catalan capital has prevailed over finalists Grenoble (France) and Groningen (the Netherlands) in a contest which also involved Paris, Espoo (Finland) and Malaga (Spain). The winning project highlights the predominant role of the city in promoting new technologies and bringing together government bodies and citizens, in order to enhance sustainable economic growth and improve the people’s welfare. The award is endowed with € 500,000 to promote innovation. Barcelona's Mayor, Xavier Trias, stated that new technologies in an urban environment have to "work towards improving people's everyday lives[…] or they will fail".

Greater Barcelona-based car manufacturer Seat has hired 450 new workers to cover an expected increase in production. The new employees will join the workforce at the Martorell factory to aid the production of two of its most popular car models, the Ibiza and the Leon. Seat also announced an increase in overall production during a strong performance in 2013, which saw its highest production rates for 5 years. Besides, the Japanese Nissan recently extended the contract to 308 temporary workers and hired additional 20 people in its Barcelona factory. Last November, Nissan launched a shorter night shift to produce the Primastar X83 van, which was extended in February in order to increase production.

Barcelona-based SEAT, which is part of the Volkswagen Group, has chosen the Geneva Motor Show to introduce its new vehicle in the Leon range, the cars whose sales increased the most in 2013, with a total of 102,000 units sold. This latest creation is the new Leon Cupra, by far the most powerful and the fastest vehicle manufactured by the Catalan company, whose main factory is located in Martorell (Greater Barcelona). With its 280 horsepower, this sports model will hit the market in both 5-door and 3-door versions. Coinciding with the opening of the event this Tuesday, SEAT also presented the Mango version of its Mii city car, a special edition resulting from the collaboration between designers at the SEAT Martorell plant and the Catalan fashion multinational which includes, amongst other novelties, exclusive paintings in beige and black.

In the coming weeks, the management of Volkswagen Group should decide where to produce its latest SUV model, designed in the SEAT Technical Centre in Martorell (Greater Barcelona) and featuring two versions, one for the Catalan brand and the other one for Skoda. The President of the SEAT Workers Committee in Martorell, Matias Carnero, argued that the Catalonia-based factory was the most competitive to produce the vehicle. These past weeks, some sources have asserted that Martorell’s main rival, the Skoda plant in the Czech Republic, would ultimately be chosen. Indeed, it is believed that the President of SEAT Jürgen Stackmann hinted at such a fact in several internal meetings. However, Matias Carnero insisted that the Martorell factory had never been completely ruled out.

Barcelona-based SEAT, which is part of the Volkswagen group, sold 355,000 vehicles last year, representing a 10.6% increase on 2012 figures. The Catalan brand has not sold so many cars since 2008. The SEAT Leon car model was the company’s strongest asset, with 102,000 cars purchased in 2013, which is a 44% sales increase on the previous year. SEAT’s President, Jürgen Stackmann, highlighted “the commercial impetus” that the company currently has, “especially in Europe, when in a market context of sales drop, SEAT is growing faster than its competitors”. In Western Europe, which is the brand’s main market, the Catalan company increased sales by 9.4%, selling 273,200, 23,500 more cars than in 2012.

Samvardhana Motherson Peguform, which produces components and materials to build cars, has announced a €30 million investment in Catalonia, during the business trip of a delegation led by President of the Catalan Government Artur Mas. The Samvardhana Motherson Group, based in Noida, already owns 4 factories in Catalonia, from the former German company Peguform – which was purchased in 2011 by the Indian multinational. €25 million will be invested in rebuilding and enlarging its Polinyà plant, in Greater Barcelona, which produces car paint and was accidentally burned last September. The remaining €5 million will be allocated to upgrading its Ripollet plant, also based near the Catalan capital. In fact, Barcelona is one of the main hubs in Europe in the car industry, with several manufacturing companies building vehicles and components.

Over 4,000 people have visited the 27^th edition of the World Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS27), which is the main international congress and trade fair in this field. It was held from the 17^th to the 20^th of Novemberin Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue. According to the organisers, this year’s edition which took place in the Catalan capital for the first time was “the most successful” and also “the most international”, with attendees from 58 countries, 1,300 delegates and 232 exhibitors. During the fair, the major brands exhibited their new electric models while the latest technologies for electric vehicles, especially batteries and charging systems, were also on display. Meanwhile, the World Electric Vehicle Association (WEVA) awarded on Wednesday afternoon the E-Visionary Prize, distinguishing Malaga (Spain), Indianapolis (US) and the Japanese Goto islands as the three most sustainable urban environments in the world.

Barcelona will host the 27^th International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition (EVS27) and the Expoelèctric trade fair in mid November. Organising these two fairs is part of the city’s economic strategy to boost the electric vehicle sector, which has been declared a priority for the entire Greater Barcelona area and Catalonia. The latest technologies, notably batteries and charging systems will be on display in the Catalan capital, while the organisers also hope to introduce electric vehicles to a very wide audience. These fairs will coincide in Barcelona with two other events dedicated to sustainable development: the Smart City Expo and BCNRail, both taking place between 19-21 November.

Car manufacturer SEAT, based in Martorell (Greater Barcelona), has set up 53,000 solar panels on the roof of its main factory and on top of parking spaces. The company has just completed the third stage of a €35 million project, which started in 2010, and occupies 10% of the 3 million square metres of its Martorell facilities. The solar panels occupy an extension equivalent to 40 soccer fields and can generate 15 million kWh of clean energy per year. This is equivalent to 25% of the energy needed to produce the Seat Leon or to the “annual consumption of 3,500 households”, said President Jürgen Stackmann. With this eco-friendly project Martorell is now the automation factory with the largest solar plant in the world. Furthermore, the panels were installed over existing facilities and do not occupy additional space.